Contact:

Kristy Gullet

949-2737705

kgullett@allyance.net

Quy “Q” Nguyen NAMED TO OC METRO MAGAZINE’S

40 UNDER 40 LIST FOR 2012

Annual List to Honor O.C.’s Top Up-and-Coming Young Professionals

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. – May 16, 2012 ­– Quy “Q” Nguyen was recently named to OC METRO Magazine’s annual 40 Under 40 List. Each year, OC METRO Magazine, Orange County’s premier business and lifestyle publication, selects a group of young professionals who have proven that they have what it takes to make a difference in Orange County through passion, enthusiasm and drive.

Throughout the year, OC METRO’s editorial staff collects nominations and scours submissions until the time comes to determine the top young professionals worthy of securing a spot on the 40 Under 40 List. This year, Quy Nguyen is honored to be chosen and featured in the May issue of the magazine.

Quy Nguyen is the CEO of Allyance Communications, Inc. Quys’ leadership, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit is the driving forces behind the creation, growth, and ongoing success of Allyance. Allyance offers a single-source model that enables customers to develop and execute a Cloud & Telecom strategy which translates into business value and operational efficiencies.

A cocktail reception to celebrate the 2012 40 Under 40 professionals took place at Pelican Hill Resort on May 16, 2012. Steve Churm, Publisher of OC METRO, was quoted saying, “This year’s honorees have proven that they are rising stars in Orange County. It is encouraging and inspiring to know we have these individuals leading our community and I truly believe that they are the future of Orange County.”

“It’s truly an honor to be recognized utmost some of the most ambitions folks in the Southern Cali business community.” said Nguyen. “There are some impressive folks on the 40 Under 40 list and I’m humble to join them. Congrats to my fellow honorees!”

Allyance Communications is Communications Solution Provider that offers a single-source model that enables customers to develop and execute a Cloud & Telecom strategy which translates into business value and operational efficiencies. By leveraging Allyance’s experience, 10+ years of industry relationships, and our vendor-agnostic, consultative approach, we can jointly develop your Roadmap and Strategy for Iaas, PaaS, SaaS, DRaaS, Private or Public Cloud, DR and Telco, to meet your specific business requirements.

Since 1990, OC METRO has been a respected source for business news and information in Orange County. The print version of OC METRO magazine is published monthly and distributed at more than 1,300 locations throughout Orange County. Combining print and online traffic, OC METRO reaches more than 300,000 business professionals and executives monthly. For more information, visit www.ocmetro.com.

ABOUT CHURM MEDIA

Churm Media is a leading regional, full-service media company based in Newport Beach, California. The privately held company publishes 4 niche consumer magazines (OC METRO, OC Family, OC Menus, and Southland Golf) and 5 interactive Websites serving readers and advertisers in five Southern California counties — Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino. The company prints and distributes more than 300,000 magazines per month with a total audience — print, online and events — of more than 1 million readers/viewers per month. RipeOrange, a full-service marketing, design, events and communications firm is also owned and operated under Churm Media. For more information visit www.churmmedia.com

Which company has most web servers? We first examined the question in April 2009, prompted by news that Rackspace now had 50,000 servers. We went looking for other companies that publicly report their server counts, and put together a list of those whose numbers we know, along with a rundown of companies that have extensive Internet infrastructure but don’t disclose their server counts. Here’s a look at our list of Who Has The Most Servers, gleaned from public reports and partial data from a recentNetcraft server count report.

Updated, April 2012 to reflect continuing growth at OVH and Akamai, new total for Rackspace:

OVH: 120,000 servers (company, April, 2012)

Akamai Technologies: 105,000 servers (company, March 2012)

SoftLayer: 100,000 servers (company, December 2011)

Rackspace: The strong growth of the Rackspace Cloud has boosted the total for this San Antonio-based provider to 79,005 servers as of Dec. 30, 2011 (Source: Company press release)

Intel: 75,000 servers (company, August, 2011)

1&1 Internet: “More than” 70,000 servers (company, Feb. 2010)

Facebook: 60,000 servers (estimate, Oct. 2009)

LeaseWeb: 36,000 servers (company, Feb. 2011)

Intergenia: (PlusServer/Server4You), 30,000 servers (company, 2011)

SBC Communications: 29,193 servers (Netcraft)

Verizon: 25,788 servers (Netcraft)

Time Warner Cable: 24,817 servers (Netcraft)

HostEurope: 24,000 servers (Company)

AT&T: 20,268 servers (Netcraft)

Of course, there are a number of providers who have at least 50,000 servers and don’t publish the information. Who else is in the club?

Here’s a list of companies we believe are running at least 50,000 servers:

Google: The search giant’s server count has long been the focus of speculation. The company doesn’t release numbers, but a recent report from energy expert Jonathan Koomey estimated that Google had 900,000 servers, based on an extrapolation from data Google provided on its total energy usage. Google’s recently revealed container data center holds more than 45,000 servers, and that’s a single facility built in 2005.

Microsoft: There’s actually some numbers on Microsoft’s server count, but it’s also dated. Screen shots from the company’s data center management software suggest that Microsoft was running about 218,000 servers in mid-2008. The company’s new Chicago container farm will hold up to 300,000 servers, so the count will change rapidly when that facility is deployed.

Amazon: It runs the world’s largest online store and one of the world’s largest cloud computing operations. Amazon says very little about its data center operations, but we know that it bought $86 million in servers from Rackable in 2008, and stores 40 billion objects in its S3 storage service. A 2009 analysis by Randy Bias estimates that 40,000 servers are dedicated to running Amazon Web Services’ EC2.

eBay: With more than 160 million active users between its online auction house and PayPal payment service, and 443 million users on Skype, eBay has a massive data center infrastructure. The company houses more than 8.5 petabytes of data in huge data warehouses. We’re not certain what kind of server count this requires, but it’s certainly in the 50,000 club.

Yahoo: While its data center infrastructure isn’t quite as enormous as those for Google and Microsoft, the third major search portal likely has more than 100,000 servers in operation to support its large free hosting operation as well as its paid hosting service and Yahoo Stores.

GoDaddy: It’s the world’s largest domain registrar with more than 35 million domains under management, but effective cross-selling of its hosting plans has also made GoDaddy one of the largest shared hosting operations in the world. It’s infrastructure is probably similar in scope to that of 1&1 Internet.

HP/EDS: While server “ownership” is less distinct with system integrators, EDS has an enormous data center operation. Company documents (PDF) say EDS is managing 380,000 servers in 180 data centers. (Thanks, Bruce for the link).

IBM: With more than 8 million square feet of data center space, IBM also houses an enormous number of servers in its data centers, both for itself and its customers.

Cloud computing is one of the most buzzworthy tech developments of the past few years. Everyone is talking about how cloud services can help businesses to be more productive, nimble and scalable.

But what exactly is the cloud? What are the potential risks and rewards for your business?

Defining the cloud

Tech gurus and cloud service providers all have a slightly different spin on defining the cloud. Essentially, the cloud is an Internet technology platform with computing and storage capabilities. Customers can access groups of virtual servers on-demand and providers typically charge fees on a per-use basis.

Maybe the easiest way to define the cloud is to discuss the business needs it meets. The cloud allows developers, website managers, IT departments and businesses of all sizes to quickly develop, test and roll out new tech capabilities without spending a lot on infrastructure and training. Companies can lease software, add IT services and boost storage capacity offsite. Ramp-up times are short and large support staffs are unnecessary.

Types of clouds

Various types of cloud environments meet the scalability, security and performance needs of different users. Generally, clouds for business customers break down into three main categories.

Private clouds: Also referred to as an internal or single-tenant cloud, a private cloud has a proprietary network or data center that is devoted to a single organization. Employees access it behind the company’s existing firewall. Businesses that need large amounts of data stored for long periods often choose private clouds, which are the most customizable and secure option.

Public clouds: Public or multi-tenant clouds are comprised of a pool of scalable resources delivered securely to multiple clients as a service over the Internet. Public clouds are the most widely used cloud platform and work well for growing businesses or companies that need immediate access to cloud services to meet rapid increases in storage needs or computing demand.

Hybrid clouds: As the name implies, a hybrid cloud combines features of both the private and public clouds. Ideally, a hybrid lets businesses take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness of a public cloud. Companies that use this type have the security features and customization options of a private cloud. Businesses may begin using certain applications in a public cloud and then migrate them to a private cloud as needs or numbers of users change.

Security considerations

When it’s properly implemented, cloud computing offers more security than most offices. Yet many business owners are nervous about having a large portion of their data housed off-site. When you’re choosing a cloud service provider, it’s essential to understand what security measures are in place to safeguard the integrity of your data, and to ensure your consistent and trouble-free access to it 24/7.

Businesses new to the cloud and looking for the right service provider might consider first partnering with a technology firm that is well-versed in data-replication standards, encryption and authentication methods, like Allyance.

Why try the cloud?

Cloud services offer flexibility for businesses of all sizes. Large companies can get to market faster, respond to changing customer demand and meet seasonal spikes trouble-free—all with less hardware, software and support costs.

Small businesses can compete using high-tech resources once reserved for the big boys—leveling the playing field and boosting bottom lines. In the rarefied atmosphere of making businesses run faster and smarter, the cloud just might be the ultimate rainmaker.

For more info on how Allyance can bring you please of mind: sales@allyance.net or 949-863-0025

It’s that time of the year where we step it up and thank others and think of others! Allyance is proud to put on the 3rd Annual TURKEY DRIVE benefiting the amazing Grant recipients of Miracles for Kids! Like the previous years, we will be delivering turkeys, canned food and grocery gift cards to those families with children who are critically ill and living below poverty in Orange County! Come join us on Tuesday, November 22nd when we deliver happiness & goodies!

Quy “Q” Nguyen, CEO of Allyance Communications, Inc., understands true success is measured by giving back to the community. He goes beyond writing a check, serving on a board and attending dinners. Nguyen makes time to play an active role as a volunteer to make children laugh.

At the Irvine Chamber’s Morning Buzz in August, Nguyen told guests how he has connected with notable business leaders who share a common interest to take their business success and invest it in Orange County’s charities. This philanthropic network has become a dynamic community that defines Nguyen’s model for conducting business and helping others.

“To truly make a difference in the community with your business, you need to have a sincere passion for a charity’s mission,” said Nguyen. “You have to begin with a sincere attitude and the simple intention of how I can help?”

From this approach to networking, Nguyen pointed out to guests they are likely to find a wealth of reputable mentors and opportunities to build deep and lasting relationships. Networking through charities offers meaningful connections with fellow professionals and business leaders who share a passion for a cause and display similar attributes of character.

Allyance’s charitable arm, Allyance Cares, gives three percent of their clients’ monthly recurring charge to the charity of their choice. The Irvine-based company also supports more than a dozen local charities generally serving the needs of children.

CenturyLink, Inc. said today that it has agreed to acquire Savvis, Inc.for $2.5 billion in cash and stock in a deal that will boost the telco’s capabilities in managed hosting and cloud computing. CenturyLink’s offer values Savvis (SVVS) at $40 a share, an 11 percent premium to Tuesday’s closing price of $36.02.

Here’s a roundup of notable analysis and commentary from around the web:

GigaOm – Hot on the heels of finishing its acquisition of Qwest, CenturyLink plans to buy Savvis, the data center provider with operations around the United States. The $3.2 billion acquisition mirrors the $1.4 billion buy of Terremark that Verizon completed earlier this month as telecommunications providers buy their way into providing cloud computing and managed hosting services. This also moves CenturyLink from being an also-ran rural telecom provider to a player in the shifting telecom world.

TechCrunch – Together, CenturyLink and Savvis say they will operate 48 data centers located in North America, Europe, and Asia with more than 1.9 million square feet of gross floor space, a national 207,000 route mile fiber network and a 190,000 mile global access network.

Wall Street Journal – he deal pushes CenturyLink further into cloud computing, a hot area in the tech sector that enables access to computer services and data storage over the Internet. The industry has been booming since the recession because it allows businesses to reduce data costs and move content more nimbly. Forrester Research Inc. estimates the global market for cloud computing will grow from $40.7 billion in 2011 to more than $241 billion in 2020.

Lessons Learned from Amazon’s Cloud Outage

More than five days after its outage began, Amazon Web Services has finally restored virtually all of its services, with some mopping up of a small number of customer accounts with “stuck” data in its Elastic Block Storage (EBS) service. “EBS is now operating normally for all APIs and recovered EBS volumes,” Amazon reports on its status dashboard. “The vast majority of affected volumes have now been recovered. We’re in the process of contacting a limited number of customers who have EBS volumes that have not yet recovered and will continue to work hard on restoring these remaining volumes.” The company promises a detailed incident report will follow.

What are the lessons and implications of the outage? Discussion continued over the weekend. Here’s a look at some notable links with analysis and commentary:

How SmugMug survived the Amazonpocalypse – SmugMug’s Don MacAskill: “Despite using a lot of Amazon services, SmugMug didn’t go down because we spread across availability zones and designed for failure to begin with, among other things.”SmugMug also didn’t use Elastic Block Storage. “We’ve never felt comfortable with the unpredictable performance and sketchy durability that EBS provides, so we’ve never taken the plunge,” MacAskill writes.

Amazon’s Cloud Outage Catches Most Clients Off Guard – The recent Amazon cloud outage at its Northern Virgina data center from 5 am Thursday, April 21, 2011 to roughly 5 am Friday, April 22 has shaken the confidence of some executives on public cloud computing. Most notably, FourSquare, HootSuite, Reddit, and Quora publicly suffered visible performance issues. The industry’s reassurances in the past on up time performance and massive redundancy capabilities combined with the massive corporate adoption had everyone believing that public clouds were bullet proof.

Seven lessons to learn from Amazon’s outage – What are the lessons to learn? Phil Wainewright at ZDNet urges close scrutiny of SLAs. “Since it has been the EBS and RDS services rather than EC2 itself that has failed (and all the failures have been restricted to Availability Zones within a single Region), the SLA has not been breached, legally speaking.”

Amazon’s Trouble Raises Cloud Computing Doubts: The New York Times examines the potential impact on cloud adoption. “Industry analysts said the troubles would prompt many companies to reconsider relying on remote computers beyond their control.”

The AWS Outage: The Cloud’s Shining Moment – At O’Reilly, George Reese makes the claim that the cloud is better than ever, but its users are not: “In short, if your systems failed in the Amazon cloud this week, it wasn’t Amazon’s fault. You either deemed an outage of this nature an acceptable risk or you failed to design for Amazon’s cloud computing model.”

Magical Block Store: When Abstractions Fail Us – Joyent takes a closer look at EBS: “I certainly don’t claim to know how EBS works, but of course people go to bars and have beers and talk. It’s commonly believed that EBS is built on DRBD with a dose of S3-derived replication logic. … Maybe (Amazon) did what a dozen billion dollar companies before them tried to do and never pulled off. Or maybe EBS is indeed bandaids and chicken wire. I have no idea. Which is a problem, as a user of EBS.”

Earlier today Level 3 Communications said it would acquire Global Crossing for approximately $3 billion in stock (and LVLT assuming $1.1 billion in debt). What’s the big-picture significance of this deal, which brings together two major players in Internet backbones, IP services, undersea cables and content delivery? Here’s a roundup of notable analysis and commentary from around the web:

The Yankee Group – The scale of this new company creates a more formidable network services competitor to the likes of AT&T, Verizon Business, BT, etc. With the breadth and depth of its coverage and data and converged services offerings at both the wholesale and large enterprise segments, this new company provides a formidable option for many companies with global needs.

Bloomberg – The deal will combine two unprofitable companies with total revenue of $6.26 billion as of last year, and cut annualized capital spending by about $40 million, according to the statement. It will also help reduce the pressure on prices, which have declined by as much as 30 percent a year in the industry, said Donna Jaegers, an analyst at DA Davidson & Co. “This is what telecom has needed for a long time,” said Denver-based Jaegers, who recommends buying both stocks. “You have way too many players.”

Fierce Telecom – One of the major growth drivers Level 3 will be around CDN services. While it has extensive CDN presence in the U.S., the Global Crossing acquisition will give it instant CDN access in Latin America, one that Global Crossing recently bolstered with its acquisition of Genesis Networks, in addition to mid-market and large enterprise services.

GigaOm – With the metro fiber assets, undersea cable and long-haul fiber crisscrossing the world, this deal allows Level 3 to play with broadband’s big boys, as those boys get bigger. For example, the industry is consolidating in terms of sharing towers for wireless networks, monopoly wireline providers combining and even wireless providers getting bought. As the last mile and wireless providers consolidate, Level 3 needs the power and scale to control its own destiny.

Telecom Ramblings – Both companies have underlying strategic needs that this deal fills. Level 3 needs greater scale to bear the load of its debt while maintaining a growth footing. Global Crossing needs US and continental European metro access to boost its margins, and for two years now has been quite open about the benefits of consolidation. That these two eventually managed to agree on a price is not nearly as surprising as how long it has taken.